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Individual Providers Begin Formal Negotiations with the State of Washington; Real Action Will Take Place Away from Bargaining Table


IP Bargaining Update #1 (May 12, 2010)


IP Bargaining Team 2010
Our campaign to protect home care workers and improve working conditions is underway with more than 30 home care workers* exchanging a first set of proposals with negotiators from the State of Washington last week over our 2011-2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (sometimes referred to as the Individual Provider Contract)

“We will bargain hard at the table because this contract sets the standard for all home care workers in the state,” said David Rolf, President of our union and chief spokesperson for our Bargaining Team.

“And when we’re not bargaining, we’ll be taking it to the streets – gathering signatures for Initiative 1098,” said Tanika Aden, a home care worker from Sea-Tac.

“Funding for health and long-term care is constantly under attack. The State has had to slash hours of care for clients, failed to fund raises for workers. The problem will only get bigger as more seniors start needing home care and other long-term care services,” Elia Martinez, a home care worker from Moses Lake added.

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SEIU Healthcare 775NW Convenes First Montana Home Care Employers Meeting

Thursday, April 8

On Wednesday, April 7, our union brought together two out of our three Montana home care employers to discuss the state of home care in Big Sky Country, explore ways in which our union and home care employers can work together on behalf of workers and develop strategies for this fall’s elections and next year’s legislative session in Helena.

Representatives from Addus Healthcare and Home Care Services joined 775NW and pledged to 1) Defend the gains made in health care funding and wages in previous sessions, and 2) Work together to prevent the agency provider rate from getting cut. Next year is expected to be a tough budget year for Montana. Agreeing on priorities several months before the legislative session will help maintain the state’s home care standards.

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Home Care Workers Called in as Experts by Washington State Department of Health

Tuesday, March 30

Kris Battan, Linda Lee, Judy Harris, Karen Washington, , Valerie Anderson-Webb, Eva Gantala, and Chelsea Stine are helping the Department of Health develop the Home Care Aide certification exams.

New home care worker training standards go into effect next year. The Department of Health (DOH) is working to develop the Home Care Aide certification exam. This exam is part of the implementation of Initiative 1029 – passed by voters in 2008. With more than 2 million votes, I-1029 received more support than any candidate or initiative in Washington state history.

In a series of workshops that started on Monday, and that will continue through tomorrow, the DOH turned to experts - Kris Battan, Linda Lee, Judy Harris, Karen Washington, Valerie Anderson-Webb, Eva Gantala, and Chelsea Stine – all member-home care workers from various parts of the state.

Washington State Leads the Way in Home- and Community-Based Long-Term Care

Monday, March 29

Senator Maria Cantwell$1.1 billion was included in the Health Care Reform bill to encourage other states to follow our lead – pay home care workers to let seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes and communities.

Our state has a model home- and community-based care long-term care policy and our 38,000 home care workers can serve as a model for home care workers elsewhere.

Senator Maria Cantwell, who pushed to have this money included in the bill told the [Vancouver] Columbian, “We did this in the Legislature to allow the state to be more flexible. We were trying as a state to say, ‘How do we fix some of our long-term health care costs?”

Now, thanks to the Health Care Reform bill passed last week, other states will have the opportunity to follow our lead.

KWA Workers and Management Reach an Agreement!!!

Tuesday, March 9

We’ve tentatively agreed on a new home care worker contract with the Korean Women’s Association. The worker/members of our KWA Bargaining Team all strongly urge our brothers and sisters to VOTE YES on the KWA Contract.
Here’s why we should all vote yes:

  • Real Training– By voting yes, you can look forward to 21st century training by the SEIU Healthcare NW Training Partnership . KWA officials had locked workers out of the Training Partnership . They were trying to keep half of the money they were getting from the state that was supposed to go directly to the Training Partnership. We said NO!
  • No Pay Cut– By voting yes, KWA will pay all L&I (workers’ compensation) expenses. KWA officials proposed making workers pay 30 cents for every hour worked. We said NO!
  • Mileage Reimbursement– By voting yes, if you have more than one client, you will still get reimbursed for mileage. KWA officials proposed taking it away. We said NO!


Showing strength and unity won us a fair contract. Let’s show real strength – take time to vote yes on our contract.

(Stay tuned for details on the contract, and when and where you can vote.)

Working Together with (Almost All) of Our Home Care Employers in Olympia

Tuesday, February 16

We held our most successful home care quarterly employers meeting to date on February 16th. Eight of our nine Washington home care agencies attended, with the anti-union management of Korean Women’s Association being the only exception.

Employer representatives were particularly engaged in discussions around Legislative strategy, our home and community-based services provider tax bill, rule making around home care certification and testing fees. Many also committed to weighing in the Department of Health rulemaking process to create a fair certification and exam system for the new training standards that are set to begin in 2011.

$400 Million In Higher Wages & Benefits For Home Care Workers

Over the last five years, by uniting together with SEIU Healthcare 775NW and holding politicians accountable, home care workers have won $400 million in higher wages and benefits for home care workers. In March, the legislature approved funding for our new union contract for individual provider home care workers and funding for agency caregivers as well. Under the new contract individual provider caregivers will see wages increase to $9.73 in July 2007 and $10.03 in July 2008, and thousands of hours that were unfairly cut because of the Shared Living Rule will be restored in October 2007.

Before the union came, I was making just over minimum wage with no benefits. With our contract, we've gotten a 40% pay increase since we got the union and our starting pay is over $10/hour. We also have worker's compensation, health, dental, and vision and insurance and paid vacations!

– Janet Rodriguez, home care worker


Resources and links for Home Care Providers

Links to information about and for home care and home care workers.

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